Scholar and Alumna Dr. RoSusan Bartee Addresses Summer Graduates at Tougaloo College
On Monday, August 6, 2012, Tougaloo College held its annual summer commencement exercise in the historic Woodworth Chapel. This celebration marks the seventh time in the College’s 143-year history that it has held a summer exercise and the ceremony graduated those students who completed degree requirements during the summer sessions.
Dr. RoSusan Bartee, an educator and alumna of the College, delivered the keynote address. Dr. Bartee was recently tenured and appointed full professor in the Department of Leadership and Counselor Education at the University of Mississippi, where she teaches foundation courses in K-12 leadership education. Her research interests include areas related to equity and access in public education. She spent the last year editing “Contemporary Perspectives on Capital in Educational Contexts.” The volume is scheduled to be the first in a five-book series addressing diverse forms of capital, including cultural, economic, human and social capital.
“I consider it an honor to be asked to serve in this role by my undergraduate home institution. I am most humbled by the invitation,” said Dr. Bartee. “Additionally, I believe that I have a message that is timely and appropriate for graduates, as well as for any of the audience members who attend. The single message is that each of us has a pathway that is uniquely fit for who we are. It remains imperative that we pursue that pathway with all vigor. Ultimately, many will benefit from the individual steps that are taken by one.”
Dr. Bartee received her Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Northwestern University and the Bachelor of Arts in English from Tougaloo College.
Dr. Hogan presents Dr. Bartee (left) with a token of Tougaloo’s appreciation
Dr. Bartee (second from right) takes a moment to pose with, from left, Vice President for OIA, Dr. Delores Bolden Stamps; Dr. Hogan, and Provost Bettye Parker Smith after the ceremony
Packed Woodworth Chapel for summer graduates
Tougaloo College Students Spend Summer
Working with Groundbreaking Mobile HIV Testing Project in Pennsylvania
Clinton native and senior biology/pre-dentistry major, Larekia Brown, and Greenwood native and senior Chemistry/Pre-Med major, Joy Walker, spent their summer in Philadelphia, PA, going door-to-door in underserved African American communities to encourage residents to get tested for HIV and HCV (Hepatitis C). Both Tougaloo College students were engaged in summer research internships at Brown University, with which Tougaloo College has an almost 50-year partnership, assisting on the “Do One Thing, Change Everything” campaign.
Tougaloo College Acquires WUFX-TV in Jackson
Broadens Academic Mission
Tougaloo College acquired television station WUFX-TV, Channel 35, in Jackson, Mississippi. WUFX is the MyNetworkTV affiliate for the Jackson market and can be seen on Cable One channel 9 and Comcast channel 11.
“This is a remarkable opportunity for the College to further its academic mission, as well as its economic interests through the purchase and operation of WUFX,” said Dr. Beverly W. Hogan, President of Tougaloo College. “Most importantly, a commercial television station will offer our students, particularly those from our Mass Communication department, some real world experience of seeing how a television station works, aiding them in knowledge acquisition and application. It will, without question, bring other benefits to the College, as well.”
“I also want to thank the Tougaloo College Board of Trustees for its role in making this acquisition a possibility, along with the generous gift by American Spirit Media to make it a reality. Without the leadership of our Board, this opportunity would not have come to fruition,” concluded Dr. Hogan.
“Dr. Hogan deserves the credit for having the vision to pursue this opportunity”, commented Mr. LeRoy Walker, Chairman of the Board of Tougaloo College. “I also want to thank Charlene Priester and Melvin Preister of The Priester Law Firm for their legal guidance and advice in putting together the documentation to make our ownership of WUFX a reality”, concluded Mr. Walker.
The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
FY 2011-2012 Sees Broad Spectrum of Federal Grant Awardees
Congratulations to our hard-working faculty and staff. Many sectors of the College were awarded some form of federal grant funding during the past fiscal year. With a healthy $10.7M in funding, the grants ranged from Destination Graduation (Student Access and Support Center-SACS), to additional funding for NTSCOE, to re-fund the Upward Bound program, to the Healthy Start Initiative (Owens Health & Wellness Center), to renovation of the Medgar Evers Home Museum, to the NOYCE Scholarship Program (Natural Science and Education collaboration), and ICOHM. Keep up the good work!
The incoming class of new students (fresh persons and transfers) is one of the largest in recent memory. Currently more than 350 and still counting, this class was the first to experience the re-imagined orientation process for new students (see slideshow of move-in day, New Student Ceremonial March and Eaglets Landing Soiree)
Alumnus and Trustee Dr. Roy Irons was prominently featured in a Colgate advertorial in the September issue of Ebony magazine. As president of the National Dental Association, Dr. Irons was pictured (twice) in the article. And in the June issue of Black Enterprise magazine, among the top 100 Black-owned companies (BE’s 100) are Trustee Sid E. Taylor’s SET Enterprises, Inc., as well as Trustee Carrie Lapsky-Davis’s son, Stephen L. Davis’ company, the Will Group.
On Monday, August 6, 2012, Tougaloo College held its annual summer commencement exercise in the historic Woodworth Chapel. This celebration marks the seventh time in the College’s 143-year history that it has held a summer exercise and the ceremony graduated those students who completed degree requirements during the summer sessions. 
Packed Woodworth Chapel for summer graduates
Clinton native and senior biology/pre-dentistry major, Larekia Brown, and Greenwood native and senior Chemistry/Pre-Med major, Joy Walker, spent their summer in Philadelphia, PA, going door-to-door in underserved African American communities to encourage residents to get tested for HIV and HCV (Hepatitis C). Both Tougaloo College students were engaged in summer research internships at Brown University, with which Tougaloo College has an almost 50-year partnership, assisting on the “Do One Thing, Change Everything” campaign.
